100 Year Starship Public Symposium, Houston, TX, USA. 2012. ©© Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported by Mike Mongo. Children: The Future of Space is Presently 8-12 years old Mike Mongo HUMANNAIRES.ORG, Key West, FL 33040, mm@humannaires.org Abstract Children are the key to our success in space. Every student knows that an astronaut is someone who goes up to space and back down to earth. By promoting the idea of an evolution of astronautics as earth’s second-generation of astronauts who get to go up to space and stay there, around the world we can reignite and recapture the imaginations of students and school children. Presently, the idea of returning to space holds little in the way of imagination. By introducing children at grassroots, individual classroom level—particularly elementary and primary students, 8-12 years of age—to the idea that by the time they are young adults they will have the opportunity to be part of “earth’s next generation of astronaut”, ordinary school students can be transformed into the most formidable allies for the cause of space. By allowing children to “consider new careers in space” such as “asteroid miner” or “zero-grav athlete” or “space captain”, a reignited imagination will take students up paths of science and math towards careers as engineers and physicists (as well as well-educated space athletes). Children and students are not a secondary-concern of any plan for a commitment to space; children are the single-most important component to the success of this next foray into space. With more leisure time on their hands and arguably the greatest influence of any single group on the planet, empowering children to become space acolytes will be the single-greatest determining factor in the move towards a global policy of space. Keywords: astronautics, pre-adolescent, interstellar, education Section 1: The Opportunity of Space for the 21st Century. At the beginning of the 21st century, the industry kids want to work in is space. The US as led by President Barack Obama wants to re-invest in teaching science & math. These are two complementary premises which bring to mind another pivotal moment in US industrial and educational history. 100 years ago, back at the opening of the 20th century, the US (and the world) experienced a technological renaissance which revolutionized labor and job opportunities. What if at that time the US had invested in imparting an up-and-coming workforce with an interest in mechanical and engineering careers and skills? In fact, it can be argued that the US (and the world) used not one but two World Wars as de facto global vocational training. Having lived through a portion of that epoch, breakthrough scientist Buckminster Fuller went so far as to observe that even when ingenuity is used for destructive purposes that the fruits of Page 1 of 10 100 Year Starship Public Symposium, Houston, TX, USA. 2012. ©© Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported by Mike Mongo. ingenuity inevitably will come to serve humankind benevolently. “Precession — not conscious planning — provides a productive outcome for misguided political and military campaigns.” [1] This specific process which Fuller calls precession is broadly defined as “the effect of bodies in motion on other bodies in motion.” [2] The inference from our context is that destructive use of talent and ability can be a superfluous and reducible step in the “precession” of human progress, and most importantly reducible by intent. Consider the present and the now-burgeoning developments in space travel industry and career astronautics. We can say with a uncharacteristic degree of certainty that breakthroughs will continue to occur that enable and increase commercial space industry and that space-ascareer-path is analogous to our present as air-as career-path and road-as-career-path were at the beginning of the 20th century. Approximately 100 years ago, car travel and aero travel sprang into existence nearly simultaneously. At that time, because of the limitations of technology it took months to migrate breakthroughs and report of inventions from one region to another. (The telephone system and radio were far-reaching innovations which seemingly sprang into existence at approximately this same time.) These innovations had so profound an effect on the course of history as to influence the unfolding of nearly every major event of the entire 20th century. Even were our world to face terrible global calamity (such as war) or unforeseen circumstance it is altogether unlikely that commercial space programming might be dislodged or dissuaded. What is more than likely now is that commercial space—like aeronautics and automotives before it—will become the driving economic force and cultural influence of the 21st century. Keeping in mind’ Fuller’s application of his concept of precession, rather than going the course of multiple Space Wars to foster humankind's move to space the opportunity at this present time is found in children and students for the reducing of war-as-advanced vocational training for space to (sans war) advanced vocational training for space. In terms of a modern space program it is widely conceded that the heyday of space program innovation is given to be the period of time between the launch of Sputnik and landing and return of Apollo 11—approximately 1957 to 1969. During this time, space was the topic of the day. Adults as parents, teachers, instructors, authorities, guardians and leaders instilled an enthusiasm for space into the young charges of their time on a daily basis. Children were willingly indoctrinated in ideologies of space. Page 2 of 10 100 Year Starship Public Symposium, Houston, TX, USA. 2012. ©© Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported by Mike Mongo. The consequence was children thinking breathing and dreaming space growing up to become adult scientists machinists engineers and space science professionals. Yet the effect of space as a topic of wonder and interest went on to perpetuate an interest in future and future-themed subjects, such as computers and science fiction-themed entertainment. How many steps is it from a child being “space crazy” over the space program of the late-1950's and 1960's to his or her becoming an adult parent taking his or her own children to Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind in the 1970’s? Or owning a TRS-80 home computer or Atari game system in the 1980’s? Or becoming a programmer or engineer? How many more steps before the children of those parents became 21st century computer techs, video game designers, or even dot-com millionaires? From the time of Sputnik to now, everything from art to style to industry has been essentially reimagined with a single vantage point in mind: Space. Here in the post-heyday-of-space future, inspired by reasons of curiosity, personal fulfilment and advancement, and the extension of humankind, the time is right for a newly unfolding future of space exploration. At the opening of the 21st century what is important is how that newly unfolding future begins: With pre-teen students 8-12 years old. Section 2: Science of Pre-Teen Decision-Making—How Pre-Teens Decide the Future While introducing science and space to children and students of all ages is invaluable, there is a practical reason for strategizing the making a point of it to children who are 8-12 years of age. In terms of child development, ages 8-12 years is when we begin to consider future careers and occupations. At the risk of being pedantic, the science and study of the notability of this formative age with regard to career choice is well-established by premier researchers in the field of child development. One of the most widely regarded is Dr Linda Gottfredson’s popular work on occupational aspirations, Gottfredson’s theory of circumscription, compromise, and self-creation. Gottfredson describes a person-to-environment fit taking place in children of this age [which Gottfredson specifies ages 9-13] as a period of social valuation*[3], which proceeds in this manner: Page 3 of 10 100 Year Starship Public Symposium, Houston, TX, USA. 2012. ©© Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported by Mike Mongo. Stage 1-Ages 3-5. Orientation to size & power - Children perceive the differences in size and power between adults and themselves, and adjust behavior accordingly. Children begin to grasp the concept of being an adult. Stages 2-Ages 6-8. Orientation to gender roles - Children begin to develop gender identities and gender “boundaries”, and begin to conceive of particular jobs & occupations are some for girls, some for boys. *Stage 3- Ages 9-13. Orientation to social valuation - Children as pre-adolescents begin conceiving of which careers are acceptable occupations. Concepts of based on social class & ability level are determining factors as children begin ruling out careers considered to be "beneath" them, and accept those that will take effort and may be of some risk.[4] (Beyond this, Gottfredson’s work on the subject of the influences on children’s developmental orientating to selecting a career path further evolved to where Gottfredson’s own work came to point to self-opinion and social identity—as well as how specific career opportunities affect those views in the individual child—as a primary influence of pre-adolescent career decision making.) In terms of inspiring children about space-as-a-career, the implication is that beyond the importance of the pre-teen years in terms of career decisions one must connect space to the fulfilment of the social, economic, class and and personal needs of each child in order for there to be real conceiving of and embracing of the possibility of specific fields as a career choice. For instance, astronautics and opportunities in the field of space may be seen as: -an affirmation for children with strong personalities; -potential avenues for expression amongst creative or internalized children; -a chance for escape or betterment in children looking to promote themselves or raise their social standing; -desirable unexplored territories and challenges for brave and curious children. (The influence of self-opinion and self-efficacy on childhood career choice is now a commonly and strongly noted variable in the determination of career opportunities by children. (Marini & Greenberger, 1978; MacKay & Miller, 1982; Lee & Rojewski, 2009, amongst others.)[5] The acceptance of this single determining variable and the convergence of career developmental theories of children has led to the idea of macro-perspectives[6] in which a central tenet is the unanimous academic standardization of the acknowledgment that it is in their pre-teens when children make integral decisions about their lifetime career directions.) While the introduction of important STEM-concepts relative to the formation of space and astronautic career ideas, plans and aspirations are essential—ie space, space travel, planets, Page 4 of 10 100 Year Starship Public Symposium, Houston, TX, USA. 2012. ©© Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported by Mike Mongo. galaxies—in earlier stages of child development in order to be able to conceive of the opportunity and availability of such roles, the natural choosing of career interests as well as collateral interests important to career goals takes place in the pre-adolescent or pre-teen years. Subsequently, these decisions lead to action, and action to actual manifestation of latent future into kinetic present. In this way, children imparted with dreams of getting to space, building rockets, seeing the moon (or even to living aboard a starship) become the impetus for these dreams becoming reality. Section III: Influencing the Influencers: Pre-Teens into Zealots for Space The extraordinary value of children becoming space zealots is that parents (and aunts and uncles and parental guardians and extended family and friends) then also become space zealots—in support of their own children. When children around adults are inspired, it inspires adults. People who are constantly around children give their lives to kids. In a way, dedication to children is like a marriage. To paraphrase a colloquial bit about one’s wife or partner, “when your children are happy, you are happy.” As everyone who lives or works with kids consistently knows: when our children are happy, we are satisfied. This holds true for one’s home, but extends further to schools, communities, and nations. Most people—as parents, guardians, teachers, leaders—enthuse over whatever our children love. What makes our children happy is what makes us happy. When our children loves space, we love space. Following this line of thought, the value of children to the advancement of a movement such as an interstellar space program becomes obvious. Space-loving children equals spaceloving adults. Interstellar space program-zealous kids equals interstellar space program-zealous adults. It is that simple. Whatmore, this effect being described is increasing, particularly in the US. The reason for this is three-fold, and relevant to the suitability of children as proponents of an interstellar space program. First, because families are having fewer children, kids’ influence on family decisions (interests) is increasing. Second, working couples can afford to have their children make decisions, while in single-parent households children are encouraged to be decision-makers. Lastly, and with the most bearing on the immediate future of promoting space exploration to children, exposure to media is now constant and ever increasing in its permeation; children are so much better informed about subject matters that parents are relying on kids to make valuecalls.[7] With regards to space, this effect can transcend topics of primary education and of general childhood development. Page 5 of 10 100 Year Starship Public Symposium, Houston, TX, USA. 2012. ©© Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported by Mike Mongo. In a seminal 2008 Kids, Inc. branding survey of 2000 age 6-14 year olds (and simultaneous survey of 600 mothers of 6-14 year olds) key findings were as follows: • Kids’ desire to “give” rivals their desire to “get” — the altruistic impulse of children is strong; • There is a huge unmet need for service opportunities for kids; • Nearly 9 out of 10 kids believe that it is extremely, very or somewhat important “to help others or give back”; • Brands that affiliate with a Cause and tap into kids’ desire to give will generate stronger relationships with kids (as well as strong trust relationships with parents); • NGOs and Causes can tap marketing departments to both funding and further outreach.[8] In other words, not only do children embrace causes faster and even more naturally than adults but causes can use brands to further their outreach to children which in turn influences adults. By meeting up the natural inclination for pre-teens to developmentally determine their career aspirations to their social and cultural influence on the world around them, while at the same time recognizing the fact that children are enthusiastically receptive to supporting such a cause or movement as, say, interstellar travel (something to the benefit of all humankind), promoting space and specifically an interstellar travel program becomes a natural complement for enthusing pre-teen devotion and career evangelizing. A step further and co-opted marketing departments of popular brands and public relations departments of popular artists can become willing allies in putting a lot more hands, hearts and minds behind the monumental objective of an interstellar space program. [I would point out that such a marketing program must be sure to co-opt brands rather than be co-opted. Brands may be used as vehicles to get out the message about an interstellar space program ie 100 Year Starship—but not the other way around. Owners of brands often imagine affiliation can be ownership. It is my own experience that the medium can co-opt the message but it is preferable that a genuine message manages the medium, particularly with the example of a space exploration program that has a 100-year objective. It is desirable if not altogether essential to proceed in a manner as to accrue credibility first then work with brands crosspromotionally. This is so as to maintain integrity. Whatmore, again using the example of a 100 Year Starship program, it is the unusual opportunity to do so as well. With 100 years to work with, marketing need not proceed in an aggressive or unduly massive way. Imagine marketing the building of the pyramids, another process that took approximately 100 years. Undoubtedly the first thing that was done was to begin teaching the children of the time: “You are to be the Page 6 of 10 100 Year Starship Public Symposium, Houston, TX, USA. 2012. ©© Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported by Mike Mongo. builders.” In this way, we are the living ancestors of the builders of the 100-year starship.] Referencing the world’s first “space-race”—again, roughly 1955 to 1975—just about every child and student in the world dreamt of space. Space toys, space books, space games, space movies. Google the phrase, “was crazy about space”, and hundreds of entries unfold containing specifically those magic words, that priceless phrase. One such entry states, Like many young [people], I was crazy about space exploration and space travel. We were children of the Space Age, and dreamed about becoming astronauts, of living on a moonbase, of walking on Mars, of visiting the rings of Saturn. Every rocket launch seemed right out of science fiction. Astronauts, not pop singers, were the real American Idols. Indeed, I was thrilled to have dinner with John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth and a childhood hero.. My parents were just as space-crazy as I was. A few days before the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969, my father came home with a brand-new television set. He didn't trust our cranky old TV for such an important occasion. 3 That came from the blog of Alan Zeichick, software developer, technology analyst, and cofounder of Software Development Times. It is one story of perhaps hundreds of thousands of similar stories, all with a single common thread: the tellers of the stories are all people whose life and career direction were inspired by space and space exploration while children. The value of this to the progress of the space program is without comparison. It is sufficient to say there is maybe no breakthrough discovery or invention that is more validating of humankind’s pursuit of space exploration than the zeal for space exploration of children. What patriots are to the legitimacy of nations, children have been to space exploration. Indeed, for humankind children are patriots of space exploration. Conclusion. What happens when children are encouraged to consider space-as-a-career choice is either: -they do not consider the opportunity, -they do consider the opportunity but are not interested/don’t pursue it, or else—and our purpose here -they do consider the opportunity and they do pursue it, so much so that they go in the requisite directions. Page 7 of 10 100 Year Starship Public Symposium, Houston, TX, USA. 2012. ©© Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported by Mike Mongo. For the success implementation of an actual interstellar space program with a window of 100 years from 2012, pre-teens now must be provided with the option of space as a career opportunity. Meaning, it is our duty to ensure children are both properly prepared for (by early STEM education) and then at the crucial time of 8-12 years age frequently introduced to space career options. As adult educators and policy makers, we often fail to recall or realize the influence of our own pre-teen self on our career path—not to mention our own level of overall satisfaction or dissatisfaction with our own life. So it comes as a surprise to many how well, with only the slightest prodding, we as adults can very clearly remember exactly what our goals for ourselves were as pre-teens. Even after these young-minded goals and aspirations develop and evolve with growth and maturity, our desires for ourselves and our own happiness constantly “touch base” with those core hopes and designs formed at the time of our pre-adolescence. In a very real sense, these personal objectives become bellwethers for our well-being and personal valuation of our own lives. Clearly, these objectives are of the utmost import. In a sense, our pre-teen designs function as virtual career and goal compasses which point out the way to the future for our lives. Subsequently, our objective in this regard can only be: to engender pre-adolescents to experience career transformative moments about a fantastic—but real—space future. In this way, the placing of heightened space and science career opportunities today within reach of the hands and minds of developing young personalities who are experiencing their arguably most critical considerations of who they are and what they will do will have come to have vast influence on an interstellar future for humankind tomorrow. To succeed, it is we who must dedicate ourselves to this objective. While scientists, engineers, authors, physicists, space professionals often take the time to encourage students and young people, how many actually dedicate themselves to encouraging children the way we dedicate ourselves to our careers and our goals? To again return to Fuller’s idea of precession, or the effect of bodies in motion on other bodies in motion, active science and space professionals must likewise engender future space professionals—to envision themselves-as-humankind in space (!). This must become a nationally-implemented objective. Furthermore, children who learn of the merits of space exploration become passionate proselytizers of the merits of space exploration to adults. Recycling is the premier example of the success of children in re-training adults. A close second is internet and computing. You only have to live in the household of a young student who learns at school of the importance of Page 8 of 10 100 Year Starship Public Symposium, Houston, TX, USA. 2012. ©© Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported by Mike Mongo. recycling to experience how immediate and far-reaching an effect children have on the values and decisions of adults. Space has moved from attainable to accessible. It is soon going to be accessible to many more. Very soon, human beings are going to live and work in space. Beyond even that are the stars. It is to the benefit of their (and our) future that we actively share this way to space and the stars to children. To children who is 8-12 years old, the key phrase they must hear being introduced frequently for their environment around them is “we are going to live and work in space”. It is our job as adults to make it our duty to transmit this key phrase to children, especially pre-teens. In their own minds, they themselves will own and internalize that message—from “you can go to to space” into “I will go to space.” Then, they will take us there. References. 1. Fuller, R. B. (1992). Cosmography: A Posthumous Scenario for the Future of Humanity. Adjuvant, Kiyoshi Kuromiya. New York: Macmillan. (p.27.) 2. Fuller, R. B. (1981). Critical Path. New York: St. Martin’s Press. (p.142.) 3. Gottfredson, L. S. (2002). Gottfredson's Theory of Circumscription, Compromise, and Selfcreation. In D. Brown (Editor), Career Choice and Development (4th ed.). San Francisco: JosseyBass. (p. 97.) 4. Gottfredson, L. S. (1981). Circumscription and Compromise: A Developmental Theory of Occupational Aspirations. Journal of Counseling Psychology Monograph, 28(6). (p. 547-556.) 5. Marini, M.M. & Greenberger, E. (1978). Sex differences in occupational aspirations and expectations. Sociology of Work & Occupations, 5. (p. 147-178.) 5. MacKay, W. R., & Miller, C. A. (1982). Relations of socioeconomic status and sex variables to the complexity of worker functions in the occupational choices of elementary school children. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 20. (p. 31-39.) 5. Lee, H., & Rojewski, J. W. (2009). Development of occupational aspiration prestige: A piecewise latent growth model of selected influences. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 75. (p. 82-90.) 6. Chen, C. P. (2003). Integrating perspectives in career development theory and practice. The Career Development Quarterly, 51. (p. 203—216.) Page 9 of 10 100 Year Starship Public Symposium, Houston, TX, USA. 2012. ©© Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported by Mike Mongo. 7. Williams, L.A. & Burns, A.C. (2000). Exploring the Dimensionality of Children’s Direct Influence Attempts. Advances in Consumer Research, 27. (p. 64-71.) 8. Kidformation. (winter 2008). Kids as a Force for Positive Social Change. Just Kids, Inc./ Kidformation 1. (p.1) Page 10 of 10